An under-the-radar special situation is emerging with PIOE’s two-part acquisition of RCP Advisors, promising rich rewards over the next several months for investors at these share-prices. RCP Advisors is a large, respected, fast-growing private equity investment management firm; its relevant segments for PIOE oversee $3.6 billion in assets under management (AUM). A conservative-to-average valuation method […]

On November 7, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) Division of Clearing and Risk (DCR) published Staff Letters 17-57, 17-58 and 17-59 (Staff Letters), which provided Banco Centroamericano de Integración Económica, the European Stability Mechanism, and the North American Development Bank, respectively, with no-action relief from the swap clearing requirements set forth in Section 2(h)(1) […]

Paul Singer (Trades, Portfolio) runs the oldest hedge fund on Wall Street, one that is now celebrating its 40th anniversary. And his clients have had good reason to stick with him: He has delivered net average annual returns of almost 14%, but there has been a lot of drama along the way. He has been called the […]

Thank you for that kind introduction and for inviting me to speak at this event.Before starting my remarks, let me give the requisite reminder that the views I express today are my own and do not necessarily represent the views of the Commission or its staff.[1] It is a pleasure for me to speak to […]

The CFTC issued an amended order that allows the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, a derivatives clearing organization (“CME”), to commingle certain customer funds used to margin, secure, or guarantee futures contracts, with customer funds related to contracts that are listed or will be listed on the Dubai Mercantile Exchange (“DME”). The order was expanded to include certain DME-listed products in […]

As we previously summarized in September 2016, the SEC has adopted changes to Form ADV, the filing required to be made by nearly all SEC and state-registered investment advisers. These revisions went into effect on October 1, 2017. Among other changes, the updated Form ADV places significant additional reporting requirements on investment advisers who manage separate accounts. […]

BITCOIN TRADING VIA BITCOIN FUTURES The largest exchange owner in the world just reversed its previous stand on Bitcoin. CME Group, Inc. announced today that it’s opening up bitcoin futures, a stock investment trading for the cryptocurrency, by the end of 2017, after it acquires the necessary regulatory permits from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). […]

When the 2007 annual results were released, John Burbank (Trades, Portfolio) of Passport Capital was a star. He had racked up a spectacular 219%. He was also the person at the center of another somewhat spectacular event 10 years later: Passport’s assets under management plunged from nearly $6 billion to less than $1 billion in the first two […]

As a matter of routine business practice, advisers should review their advertisements and promotional materials to ensure compliance with Rule 206(4)-1 of the Advisers Act. Advisers should also regularly review the adequacy and effectiveness of their compliance programs and procedures. The SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) recently issued a risk alert identifying […]

The CFTC Division of Clearing and Risk (“DCR”) issued an Interpretive Letter clarifying that variation margin (“VM”) for cleared swap positions constitutes the daily settlement of exposure and not collateral under the Commodity Exchange Act (“CEA”). In the letter, the DCR explained that VM for cleared swaps may be transferred under either of two separate legal models: […]

The Division of Clearing and Risk (DCR) of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission has issued an interpretive letter clarifying that payments of variation margin, price alignment amounts and other payments in satisfaction of outstanding exposures on a counterparty’s cleared swap positions constitute “settlement” under the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and CFTC Regulation 39.14. The CEA […]